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St. Francis Hotel, Union Square
In 1901 the Crocker family announced plans to build a grand hotel which would turn San Francisco into the 'Paris of the West'. The result was the Westin St. Francis which was completed in 1904 and sits on Union Square. The furnishings and service are impeccable, the hotel cleans and polishes more than 25,000 coins a day to keep clean the hands and gloves of its patrons. Six months after opening the hotel was so popular that a third wing, two floors of apartments, and a ballroom were added.

Despite all this attention to detail a number infamous events have taken place at the St. Francis. On Labor Day 1921, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle threw a party in three suites of the hotel. One guest, Virginia Rappe collapsed and died of peritonitis. Fueled by the tabloids, the enormous resulting scandal ruined Arbuckle's career and he died penniless in 1933. In 1950, Al Jolson died of a coronary here after an evening of gin rummy with friends. And on September 23, 1975 President Gerald Ford exited the hotel and was shot at twice from across the street by Sara Jane Moore. Moore's pistol shots were deflected by a San Francisco native, Oliver "Billy" Sipple. Again the newspapers jumped on the news and Sipple, an ex-marine and closeted gay man, was outed the national press.
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